Amidst the chiaroscuro lighting on the stage, is a dancer, his form hidden in the shadows and facing the audience. His hands form the two eyes mudra, as the installation created by Venas Thokchom of Manipur is suspended above him. The dancer’s movements shimmer, obstructing and revealing it in turns allowing the light to fall on his body. The moments segue into fluid gestures of Aseng Borang who also choreographed the presentation and is performing solo in a series of mini episodes.
The performance is titled ‘Erosion of Tangko’, which depicts the micro-aggressive transgressions against the marginalised tribes of India and their physically and psychological effects. The act was the winning entry at the fourth edition of the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards (PECDA) held at the Museum Theatre in Chennai from August 28-30.
“It focuses on important issues such as racism, oppression and discrimination, and also echo my life experiences. The assaults and discrimination faced by the Mongoloid-Indians in the northeast, slurs and terms used to demean and dehumanise them, the horrific Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts and how it is used as a tool to take human rights away and control our politics, mobility and freedom that will harm the future generation are some of the issues that reflect in my work. Many conversations with many individuals also helped,” says the 24 year old Boreng who belongs to Arunachal Pradesh.
The cash prize couldn’t have come at a better time. Now, Borang is eligible for an annual mentorship of an internationally-renowned dance company. The end product will be shown in multiple cities the following year.
Of the 60 entries that poured in from many places, including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune, only 22 were selected. It was ‘Erosion of Tangko’ that grabbed the `5 lakh prize for its novel choreography. Sujay Saple’s ‘Sons of the Soil’ and Purnendra Meshram’s ‘Two Men’ shared the runners-up spot.
While discrimination against a particular class of people was the focus of Borang’s dance performance, Sujay Saple saw fit to mock patriarchy. The 32-year-old thespian with a theatre background is the artistic director of the dance-theatre company Shapeshift in Mumbai. His piece explored the psyche of the male ego that is deeply entrenched throughout society through gestures denoting to religion, rituals, and sexual and territorial aggression.
Meshram’s work, on the other hand, is an abstract depiction of two men and their relationship—a total departure from hip-hop and Bollywood dance forms—with an earlier style Purnendra had adhered to. The 28-year-old actor was attracted by the contemporary dance form after joining the reputed Attakkalari, Bengaluru, to pursue a diploma in arts.
Senior performers, including Mandeep Raikhy, Preethi Athreya, Diya Naidu, Surjit Nongmeikapam and Deepak Kurki Shivaswamy were among those who enthralled the audience with their exquisite renditions during the three-day fest.
Thanks to the Prakriti Foundation founded by cultural activist and philanthropist Ranvir Shah in 1998 many such artists have been given a platform to show their work every year.During the fest, Delhi-based dancer Rajan Rathore won the jury’s special mention award. He has come a long way from performing as a street dancer and choreographing TV reality shows such as Dance India Dance until finally becoming a guest faculty member in the National School of Drama. “We fight for human rights but are nasty to the street sweeper. Often what we say is different from what we do,” says the 35-year-old, spotlighting the line between words and action.
The common denominator of all the works is the way contemporary concerns are bound, effortlessly into the performance mosaic.Farooq Chaudhry, Co-Artistic Director, PECDA, says, “The pieces are ambitious and adventurous. With each performance, the actors kept raising the bar.”